~TIANA JACOBS' POV~
I trudged down the stairs with my bag slung over my shoulder and clutching Tristan to me as he bounced on my hips. He kissed my lips as I set him down on the floor and he ran straight for the kitchen. I followed him and I saw the man sitting on the kitchen counter, reading the morning paper and eating some toasts. Tristan pulled his arm and my brother kissed his cheeks before going to the fridge.
Easy to be a kid, huh, you accept things as they come.
The man noticed that I was just standing there, staring at the scene that just happened right before my eyes. "Want some toasts?" he offered.
I shook my head and I chuckled humourlessly. "You know what I want?" I asked him and he stood up.
"What do you want for breakfast? I'll make it for you," he smiled.
"I want you to get out of this house, out of my life." I snapped and he turned to me, wide eyed. "You weren't even here when I was growing up and who do you think you are, waltzing back into this place?" I said. "I don't need any breakfast, just take care of Tristan's," I said and I walked out of the kitchen, straight out of the door.
"You went to a Theme Park without us?" Julienne shrieked at Blade and I and he smirked, nodding to Julienne's question. "And you call yourself friends!" she huffed before crossing her arms over her chest, fuming.
I snorted, "What friendship?" I asked and the guys laughed at me, raising their hands up for a high five, which I returned.
"So, the dance is coming up and I have absolutely no one to go with," West confessed after some time while we were all eating.
I gave him a weird look. "The girls are probably tripping, waiting for you to ask one of them out," I told him.
He sighed and I shared a look of urgency with Julienne. "Uhh..." I stammered. "We'll help you find one?" I told him. Wait, more like asked.
Let's just say that it's not really working out. Julienne and I have been using our time, looking around in the cafeteria for someone who will be a perfect match for West, but all we ever came up with was, let's just say, nothing. Blade has been keeping himself amused by watching Julienne and I have a conversation about which ones we saw and in the end, would cross her out from our mental lists.
We were seated at our usual table when Jacob suddenly came up to ours and sat next to me. "So, Tiana, Winter Formal is coming up," he told me.
"Don't tell me you want us to find you a date as well, because Julienne and I are having a helluva time finding one for West," I muttered as I picked up a cheese fries.
He laughed and punched West's shoulder, making West shoot a glare at my direction. "No, I was thinking..." Jacob started.
"Wow, that must have been hard for you to do," West scoffed and I laughed, giving him a high five.
Jacob cleared his throat again, "As I was saying," he started again.
"Tee, help me," Blade whined as he got seated right in front of me, clutching his textbook.
I shot him a disgusted look, "Ew, don't ask me any academic questions, you know full well I suck at it!" I retorted and Jacob sighed next to me.
"Are you going to the dance with anyone?" Jacob suddenly turned to me and I shook my head no. "Then," he grinned to himself.
Someone pushed his face away. "No, absolutely not," Blade and West said simultaneously.
"Oh, come on!" Jacob groaned.
"No, get lost," West said with finality in his voice.
Some of the Football and Soccer team members saw the commotion happening at our table, making Dan, Chris, and Jake went over. "Come to the dance with me?" the three of them said together and I groaned.
“If Jacob doesn’t have a chance, you think the three of you do?” West mocked and I laughed.
"Sorry boys, I'm not coming for the dance," I turned them down.
Everyone was quiet for a while and I took that a sign that they finally shut up about it when the protests came right after. I sighed and leaned my head against the palm of my hands. "Come on, Tee! Winter Formal is not that bad, I swear," Blade told me.
"They're for Juniors," I explained and all of them rolled their eyes at me, including Julienne.
"Do we look like we care?" Chris piped up.
All of them started firing questions at me and Blade whistled, taking all of their attention. "Guys, stop. Come on, Tee, it won't be so bad, I promise. You can always go without a date, the rest of us will still be there," he proposed. "You can even wear converse shoes with your dress, it doesn't matter. It's your last year, live a little," he smiled and I sighed.
"Fine, I'll go," I said defeatedly.
Blade yelled happily and fist pumped the air. "YES!" he yelled and the guys muttered some things under their breaths, obviously annoyed at Blade, but they still smiled at me.
"My offer still stands," Jacob informed me.
"Get lost," Blade said, still happy.
All that aside, the whole week has been nothing but pure annoying. Some guy thought that sticking notes on my locker with an invitation to the Formal would make me go with him. I took it down and crumbled it, tossing it into a nearby trash can. Two guys came up to me and asked and I told them I wasn't interested, so, they walked away, a look of defeat on their faces.
"Tiana," someone said behind me and I groaned.
"Enough with the dance questions," I said and I turned around, shrieking a little when I saw Max towering behind me. I stepped back a little and I heaved out a sigh of relief.
"Everyone's asking you, huh," he smiled and I nodded. "Do I still stand a chance?" he asked.
I sighed and I looked down at my shoes. "Max, I honestly don't want to get involved with you at the moment with Lindsey still sending glares and hate my way. Going out on that date with you right after you broke up with her was a big mistake and I shouldn't have done so, Max, you know that. It's just... I'm sorry." I said, looking up at him and he was just standing there, a look of hurt in his face before he mustered a smile.
"No, it's fine. I shouldn't have let you go through such things. I'm sorry," he apologised. I smiled at him and I shook my head, telling him that it was fine. "Do I still stand a chance in the future, though?" he asked and I sucked in a deep breath.
"Max, I'm sorry," I repeated and he nodded in understanding.
"Friends?" he asked, smiling, though hurt was still etched across his face.
"Friends," I returned his smile.
I walked to my class and I couldn't help but smile to myself. In a matter of two months, I managed to make friends, stand up for myself and piss Lindsey off with that, actually go on a date with someone I've had a crush for then and finally, to actually be social and live my life the way it should be led.
Maybe Senior Year isn't that bad after all, huh.
